Deuteronomy 33
New King James Version
Moses’ Final Blessing on Israel
33 Now this is (A)the blessing with which Moses (B)the man of God blessed the children of Israel before his death. 2 And he said:
(C)“The Lord came from Sinai,
And dawned on them from (D)Seir;
He shone forth from (E)Mount Paran,
And He came with (F)ten thousands of saints;
From His right hand
Came a fiery law for them.
3 Yes, (G)He loves the people;
(H)All His saints are in Your hand;
They (I)sit down at Your feet;
Everyone (J)receives Your words.
4 (K)Moses [a]commanded a law for us,
(L)A heritage of the congregation of Jacob.
5 And He was (M)King in (N)Jeshurun,
When the leaders of the people were gathered,
All the tribes of Israel together.
6 “Let (O)Reuben live, and not die,
Nor let his men be few.”
7 And this he said of (P)Judah:
“Hear, Lord, the voice of Judah,
And bring him to his people;
(Q)Let his hands be sufficient for him,
And may You be (R)a help against his enemies.”
8 And of (S)Levi he said:
(T)“Let Your [b]Thummim and Your Urim be with Your holy one,
(U)Whom You tested at Massah,
And with whom You contended at the waters of Meribah,
9 (V)Who says of his father and mother,
‘I have not (W)seen them’;
(X)Nor did he acknowledge his brothers,
Or know his own children;
For (Y)they have observed Your word
And kept Your covenant.
10 (Z)They shall teach Jacob Your judgments,
And Israel Your law.
They shall put incense before You,
(AA)And a whole burnt sacrifice on Your altar.
11 Bless his substance, Lord,
And (AB)accept the work of his hands;
Strike the loins of those who rise against him,
And of those who hate him, that they rise not again.”
12 Of Benjamin he said:
“The beloved of the Lord shall dwell in safety by Him,
Who shelters him all the day long;
And he shall dwell between His shoulders.”
13 And of Joseph he said:
(AC)“Blessed of the Lord is his land,
With the precious things of heaven, with the (AD)dew,
And the deep lying beneath,
14 With the precious fruits of the sun,
With the precious produce of the months,
15 With the best things of (AE)the ancient mountains,
With the precious things (AF)of the everlasting hills,
16 With the precious things of the earth and its fullness,
And the favor of (AG)Him who dwelt in the bush.
Let the blessing come (AH)‘on the head of Joseph,
And on the crown of the head of him who was separate from his brothers.’
17 His glory is like a (AI)firstborn bull,
And his horns like the (AJ)horns of the wild ox;
Together with them
(AK)He shall push the peoples
To the ends of the earth;
(AL)They are the ten thousands of Ephraim,
And they are the thousands of Manasseh.”
18 And of Zebulun he said:
(AM)“Rejoice, Zebulun, in your going out,
And Issachar in your tents!
19 They shall (AN)call the peoples to the mountain;
There (AO)they shall offer sacrifices of righteousness;
For they shall partake of the abundance of the seas
And of treasures hidden in the sand.”
20 And of Gad he said:
“Blessed is he who (AP)enlarges Gad;
He dwells as a lion,
And tears the arm and the crown of his head.
21 (AQ)He provided the first part for himself,
Because a lawgiver’s portion was reserved there.
(AR)He came with the heads of the people;
He administered the justice of the Lord,
And His judgments with Israel.”
22 And of Dan he said:
“Dan is a lion’s whelp;
(AS)He shall leap from Bashan.”
23 And of Naphtali he said:
“O Naphtali, (AT)satisfied with favor,
And full of the blessing of the Lord,
(AU)Possess the west and the south.”
24 And of Asher he said:
(AV)“Asher is most blessed of sons;
Let him be favored by his brothers,
And let him (AW)dip his foot in oil.
25 Your sandals shall be (AX)iron and bronze;
As your days, so shall your strength be.
26 “There is (AY)no one like the God of (AZ)Jeshurun,
(BA)Who rides the heavens to help you,
And in His excellency on the clouds.
27 The eternal God is your (BB)refuge,
And underneath are the everlasting arms;
(BC)He will thrust out the enemy from before you,
And will say, ‘Destroy!’
28 Then (BD)Israel shall dwell in safety,
(BE)The fountain of Jacob (BF)alone,
In a land of grain and new wine;
His (BG)heavens shall also drop dew.
29 (BH)Happy are you, O Israel!
(BI)Who is like you, a people saved by the Lord,
(BJ)The shield of your help
And the sword of your majesty!
Your enemies (BK)shall submit to you,
And (BL)you shall tread down their [c]high places.”
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 33:4 charged us with
- Deuteronomy 33:8 Lit. Perfections and Your Lights
- Deuteronomy 33:29 Places for pagan worship
Deuteronomy 33
New Living Translation
Moses Blesses the People
33 This is the blessing that Moses, the man of God, gave to the people of Israel before his death:
2 “The Lord came from Mount Sinai
and dawned upon us[a] from Mount Seir;
he shone forth from Mount Paran
and came from Meribah-kadesh
with flaming fire at his right hand.[b]
3 Indeed, he loves his people;[c]
all his holy ones are in his hands.
They follow in his steps
and accept his teaching.
4 Moses gave us the Lord’s instruction,
the special possession of the people of Israel.[d]
5 The Lord became king in Israel[e]—
when the leaders of the people assembled,
when the tribes of Israel gathered as one.”
6 Moses said this about the tribe of Reuben:[f]
“Let the tribe of Reuben live and not die out,
though they are few in number.”
7 Moses said this about the tribe of Judah:
“O Lord, hear the cry of Judah
and bring them together as a people.
Give them strength to defend their cause;
help them against their enemies!”
8 Moses said this about the tribe of Levi:
“O Lord, you have given your Thummim and Urim—the sacred lots—
to your faithful servants the Levites.[g]
You put them to the test at Massah
and struggled with them at the waters of Meribah.
9 The Levites obeyed your word
and guarded your covenant.
They were more loyal to you
than to their own parents.
They ignored their relatives
and did not acknowledge their own children.
10 They teach your regulations to Jacob;
they give your instructions to Israel.
They present incense before you
and offer whole burnt offerings on the altar.
11 Bless the ministry of the Levites, O Lord,
and accept all the work of their hands.
Hit their enemies where it hurts the most;
strike down their foes so they never rise again.”
12 Moses said this about the tribe of Benjamin:
“The people of Benjamin are loved by the Lord
and live in safety beside him.
He surrounds them continuously
and preserves them from every harm.”
13 Moses said this about the tribes of Joseph:
“May their land be blessed by the Lord
with the precious gift of dew from the heavens
and water from beneath the earth;
14 with the rich fruit that grows in the sun,
and the rich harvest produced each month;
15 with the finest crops of the ancient mountains,
and the abundance from the everlasting hills;
16 with the best gifts of the earth and its bounty,
and the favor of the one who appeared in the burning bush.
May these blessings rest on Joseph’s head,
crowning the brow of the prince among his brothers.
17 Joseph has the majesty of a young bull;
he has the horns of a wild ox.
He will gore distant nations,
even to the ends of the earth.
This is my blessing for the multitudes of Ephraim
and the thousands of Manasseh.”
18 Moses said this about the tribes of Zebulun and Issachar[h]:
“May the people of Zebulun prosper in their travels.
May the people of Issachar prosper at home in their tents.
19 They summon the people to the mountain
to offer proper sacrifices there.
They benefit from the riches of the sea
and the hidden treasures in the sand.”
20 Moses said this about the tribe of Gad:
“Blessed is the one who enlarges Gad’s territory!
Gad is poised there like a lion
to tear off an arm or a head.
21 The people of Gad took the best land for themselves;
a leader’s share was assigned to them.
When the leaders of the people were assembled,
they carried out the Lord’s justice
and obeyed his regulations for Israel.”
22 Moses said this about the tribe of Dan:
“Dan is a lion’s cub,
leaping out from Bashan.”
23 Moses said this about the tribe of Naphtali:
“O Naphtali, you are rich in favor
and full of the Lord’s blessings;
may you possess the west and the south.”
24 Moses said this about the tribe of Asher:
“May Asher be blessed above other sons;
may he be esteemed by his brothers;
may he bathe his feet in olive oil.
25 May the bolts of your gates be of iron and bronze;
may you be secure all your days.”
26 “There is no one like the God of Israel.[i]
He rides across the heavens to help you,
across the skies in majestic splendor.
27 The eternal God is your refuge,
and his everlasting arms are under you.
He drives out the enemy before you;
he cries out, ‘Destroy them!’
28 So Israel will live in safety,
prosperous Jacob in security,
in a land of grain and new wine,
while the heavens drop down dew.
29 How blessed you are, O Israel!
Who else is like you, a people saved by the Lord?
He is your protecting shield
and your triumphant sword!
Your enemies will cringe before you,
and you will stomp on their backs!”
Footnotes
- 33:2a As in Greek and Syriac versions; Hebrew reads upon them.
- 33:2b Or came from myriads of holy ones, from the south, from his mountain slopes. The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
- 33:3 As in Greek version; Hebrew reads Indeed, lover of the peoples.
- 33:4 Hebrew of Jacob. The names “Jacob” and “Israel” are often interchanged throughout the Old Testament, referring sometimes to the individual patriarch and sometimes to the nation.
- 33:5 Hebrew in Jeshurun, a term of endearment for Israel.
- 33:6 Hebrew lacks Moses said this about the tribe of Reuben.
- 33:8 As in Greek version; Hebrew lacks the Levites.
- 33:18 Hebrew lacks and Issachar.
- 33:26 Hebrew of Jeshurun, a term of endearment for Israel.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
